(Seattle, WA - July 31, 2023) Global Washington (GlobalWA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to support the global development community in Washington State, announced today that Pangea Giving, a Seattle-based giving circle operating since 2003, will become a program of GlobalWA starting August 1, 2023. The merger of the two organizations will create an unparalleled platform for global philanthropy and strategies to improve lives in low- and middle-income countries.   As a program of GlobalWA, Pangea will be able to increase its member engagement, capacity, educational activities, partner relations, and programs in Seattle. For GlobalWA, having Pangea as...[ Read More ]

On June 4, 2023, Pangea members and friends gathered at the Mt Baker Community Club to celebrate Pangea’s 20th anniversary. Below is an excerpt from the presentation made at the event by Janet Pearson, Board President. When I look around the room….my heart is filled with joy. Because we are finally able to come together as a community. The last time we gathered for an annual meeting was in 2019. That seemed like a long time ago! For such a people-oriented group - it’s fair to say that these last few years have been a challenging time. But despite COVID...[ Read More ]

By Allan Paulson June 4, 2023 At our 20th year anniversary celebration, Allan Paulson, a founding Pangea member, shared his recollection of the early days that formed our giving circle. In November, 2001, I received an email out of the blue inviting me to come to a discussion about how we could promote better understanding across cultures and countries.  This was a few months after the 9/11 attack. One of the disconcerting back stories that emerged focused how much dislike and hatred there was toward Americans, and America in many parts of the world. I decided to go, and found...[ Read More ]

By Susan Sola June 15, 2023 Left to right: Sharon Bissell, Lorraine Toly, Paul Silver, Susan Sola, and Christina Marra Pangea’s Latin America Pod recently hosted a meeting with Sharon Bissell, former executive director of the MacArthur Foundation in Mexico. Sharon is now co-chair of Acento (www.acento.org), the MacArthur Foundation’s social justice and human rights legacy in Mexico. Out of our fruitful discussion, we found a number of ways Acento and Pangea might collaborate to better serve small groups focusing on priority community needs. Acento has deep knowledge of small and emerging Mexican organizations, offering them financial and technical support,...[ Read More ]

By Susan Sola - Pangea Latin America Pod Chair. May 21, 2023 Along with other LA Pod members, I recently attended a panel presentation “Corruption and Impunity: A Crisis of Democracy in Guatemala.” The panel included representatives from Acción Ciudadana (Guatemalan Chapter of Transparency International); Seattle International Foundation; Global Rights Advocacy; and the Seattle Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs, most of Guatemalan origin, as well as young members of Global Visionaries. All were very frank, knowledgeable, and uniformly pessimistic about the country’s near-term future. During the presentations we learned that: Authoritarianism is on the rise but there are many local/municipal-level...[ Read More ]

March 2023 By Paul Silver Overview: On behalf of Pangea, I, accompanied by my intrepid spouse, Christina Marra, visited our new (and first) grantee in Laos, Green Community Volunteers (GCV) for three days.  Founded in 2009, by an ethnic minority woman, GVC seeks to empower communities on environmental issues such as biodiversity preservation. Site Visit: Two of the three co-directors of GCV, Dorn, who is GCV’s founder, and Linol, who is a volunteer lawyer, met us in Luang Prabang. From there we traveled by minivan approximately 3 hours north to the Ou River town of Nong Khiaw. We then traveled...[ Read More ]

Since Pangea began its seven-year funding partnership and ongoing friendship with Wendo Aszed and Dandelion Africa in 2014, she has been recognized internationally for the breadth, depth and success of her work in Kenya with all aspects that impact community life. Most recently, Bill Gates added to those honors by featuring her and her work in his November 22, 2022 blog - GatesNotes. While it can’t cover all that she has has achieved, it is a satisfying read and includes a YouTube link to Wendo’s narrative of her mission with Dandelion Africa. Please join us in congratulating our dear friend...[ Read More ]

The EALF is an annual meeting of leaders from Pangea’s current and former grant partners in East Africa. The forum provides an opportunity to share experiences and expertise on a variety of issues related to running effective organizations. Below are some testimonials from the Forum's participants. From Robert Kalulu, CEO, Child Empowerment Program (CEP), Uganda: "I have been attending this rotational forum since 2018 and found it to be an enriching experience. This years’ forum taught me the scope and significance of communication, as well as other critical issues. Topics discussed included: branding in broader time where I understood that...[ Read More ]

Welcome to the Board! In this month's member spotlight, we hear from Emily Ho, fresh from being elected to our Board of Directors in April 2021. How did you first hear about / get involved with Pangea? How have you participated in Pangea as a member? I have been an active member of Pangea since the fall of 2018 and soon afterwards, went on my first site visit to Myanmar in the spring of 2019. Since then, I have been a member of the Southeast Asia pod. Why are you a Pangea member? I first heard of Pangea from my...[ Read More ]